Here in Southern California, I like to get out on a boat and fish local, island, offshore, or Baja California waters. I have caught anything from rockfish, sheepshead and kelp/sandbass, to barracuda and bonito, yellowtail and white seabass, all the way to yellowfin, Bluefin and albacore tuna. There is also  mako shark fishing in the area as well. Here are links to some of the landings in Orange County, and San Diego County.

OC:
*daveys locker local, catalina/clemente islands, outer banks
Newport Landing (similar areas as davey's)
* dana wharf local (south county). islands, outer banks

SD
Seaforth local, Coronodo Islands (mex), some baja 2-3 days
point loma local, islands, BAJA multiday and long range
fisherman's same as point loma
HM landing same as PL and fisherman's
(point loma,fisherman's, and HM are all in the same place)
Helgren's Sportfishing Oceanside (north SD county)

FISH COUNTS for ALL these landings AND MORE, along with detailed reports for subscribers (sat images, gps locations, recent productive techniques) can be found at BITESON.COM, BITESON.COM is a GREAT SITE!

MY TACKLE ARSENAL (rods/reels)

Local/Longrange saltwater:

Rig #1 Calstar Boomer jr rod, custom wrapped w/aftco rollers, Shimano Tiagra 50wLRS  2-speed reel (80-100lb)
Rig #2 Calstar Grafighter 760L rod, custom wrapped, Shimano TLD 30 II 2-speed reel (60lb)
Rig #3 Calstar 865XH rod, custom wrapped, Penn 113HL 4/0 Senator reel w/black AccuFrame (50lb)
Rig #4 Garcia Conolon 4star rod, custom re-wrapped, Penn 505HS hi-speed jigmaster reel w/ice-blue AccuFrame (30-40lb)
Rig #5 Calstar 270 rod, custom wrapped, Penn 506HS hi-speed narrow jigmaster reel w/blue AccuFrame (20-25lb)
Rig #6 Seeker 270H-8CT rod, Penn 505HS hi-speed jigmaster reel w/AccuFrame "99" mid-width conversion (black frame/gold spool) (25-30lb)
Rig #7 Sabre Californian 1970C rod, Penn 146L Squidder Jr. reel w/gold AccuFrame (15-20lb)
Rig #8 Sabre Californian 1970C rod, Penn 100L narrow Surfmaster reel w/silver AccuFrame (15-20lb)
Rig #9 Penn custom power stick 196-8 rod, Penn 501L Jigmaster Jr. reel w/purple AccuFrame (20-25lb)
Rig #10 Penn Sabre B870C custom prototype rod, Diawa Sealine SL250H reel w/custom bearings (30lb)
Rig #11 Penn Californian C665C rod, Penn 112HL 3/0  Senator reel (30-40lb)
Rig #12 Penn PSB 0712 rod, Penn 160L reel (20-25lb)

Inshore/Calico/Bay/Freshwater:

Rig #1 Penn/Rodco factory prototype 8' graphite inshore/popping rod (green blank/wraps),  Shimano Corsair 400a inshore baitcast reel (12-15-20lb)
Rig #2 Shimano 5'6" composite cast rod, shimano bantam 10Xsg baitcast reel (8lb)
Rig #3 Shimano Sensilite SN59mh carbon/graphite spinning rod, Shimano TX4000 spinning reel (10lb)
Rig #4 Penn/Rodco factory prototype ultralight graphite spinning rod, Quantum QL00 ultralight reel (2-6lb)
Rig #5 Pinnacle B.A.S.S. Tour series p661CMH 6'6 IM8 graphite cast rod, Quantum IR400CX reel (10lb)
Rig #6 Daiwa 5pc light pack rod (old school), needs to be re wrapped, Quantum QP05 reel (4-6lb)

Deepwater Rockcod:

Rig #1 Shakespeare Studry Stick 6'6" hvy action roller tip rod w/rail plate, Penn 68 longbeach reel w/power handle (50lb dacron) (converts to backup shark rig by switching to the extra spool filled with 50lb mono, switching back to regular handle, and removing rail plate from rod)

Fly:

Rig #1 Master 8' 2pc fly rod, martin 63 fly reel #7-8 line
Rig #2 Shakespeare Fiberglass 3pc 8' fly rod, martin 61 fly reel #7-8 line

RECENT TRIP UPDATES!:  SORRY I have not updated this site in a while, the sept 2000 searcher trip never got its write up, and my 2002 trip on the searcher got neglected as well, I cant remember getting out on a multi day trip in 2001, pretty sure I didn't, and I cant remember dates/specifics of the 1 day and shorter trips. For some reason I haven't been writing about my upstate NY freshwater fishing, BAD ME!  I just recapped last July's 4 day, and maybe soon I will do a recap of the sept 2000 searcher trip, that i wound up losing an 80-100+lb tuna at color. on,

 I Just got back from a last minute 1 day on the CAT SPECIAL out of DAVEYS LOCKER, Sept 17th 2003. The trip I wanted to take on the SEARCHER this year was sold out and I havent gotten out on a multiday trip yet this year, and most likely wont be able to, unless the bite inproves and my finances allow.  Well back to the trip, This trip was slow pickins, other boats were having better luck finding the kelp patties, however we did have some action at least. We were 80 miles from Newport, offshore from San Deigo, and alot of the SD fleet was in the same area.

Most of the stops were just skipjack, and my first tuna of the year (late in the season I know) was a small skipjack, maybe 7-8 pounds. I was fishing my clastar 270 with penn 506 with 20lb. All my bait fish for the day wound up on the same rod. Later on I scored probably the biggest skippy on the boat, was about 12 pounds. Trolling a Silver/Black Rapala Magnum, I caught another skippy, just a tad smaller then my bigger one. I was using my Calstar Boomer Jr Rod with TLD 30 2 speed with 60#, I left my Tiagra at home for this trip.  We had one pattie produce us some yellowtail, nothing big, I got one just over 5 pounds, that frayed my line up real bad under the boat. the bite was still going so instead of cutting and retying after the fish, I grabbed my 30lb rig. That stop produced some yellows, one dorado, and the cook caught the first yellowfin of the trip. My 30 wasnt getting bit, and I wish I had a backup 20lb rig with me, but I was traveling light, only 5 rods this time. After that I re rigged my 20lb but didnt get any more baitfish for the day. My yellowfin skunk ended with a troll fish just under 15 pounds, on a cedar plug, so I at least had some fillets for the freezer. Overal I got 1 Yellowfin, 1 Yellowtail, and 4 Skipjack. Boat caught 8-9 Yellowfin, it was a light load 13 official guys fishing in the jackpot, one or 2 deadheads, plus the crew getting a line in the water here and there. One of the other guys, the jackpot winner with an 18lb yellowfin, was kind enough to take some digital pictures.

JULY 7-11 2002 on the SEARCHER  This one is from memory, a brief overview since I didn't write anything down after the trip. In short, this was a good albacore trip with some bluefin mixed in, TONS of albies, of course not like my american angler 4 day trip I took years ago, when the albies first returned, but still enough albies to get just under 2 cases of canned albacore in trade from fishermans canning. I was top bluefin dawg, catchign either 3 or 4, when the boat had around 10-12 total, for about 30 guys fishing. We thought my biggest bluefin would be in the jackpot, but ironically, I got 3rd place with an albie just under 30 pounds and none of my bluefin had placed. I cant remember if there were some yellowtail mixed in or not, or what I was using when I caught each fish, but I do remmember that another jackpot winner was 15 yr old Nick Lombardo, Nephew of SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo, fishing with his father Dan, Dave Lombardo's Brother. Another guy on the trip was the uncle of NO DOUBT's drummer, Adrian Young. Bill Roecker took a pic of me in the Jackpot pose, but I dont remember if I saved it or not and cant find it, and since it was last year, I was unable to find the fish count info that was on the searcher site, and I highly doubt I would be able to find the pic on the web elsewhere, If I find it, I will post it.  Good trip overall though!

 (Sept. 10th 2000, 2:30am: I am just about finsihed packing and loading my gear for a 4 day trip on the SEARCHER with Braid Products running the open charter, will post results after I get back on the 14th, I may even finally post some pictures, even some old ones I may find lying around)

June 14th 1999 (departed 11pm June 13th) on the boat HOLIDAY out of POINT LOMA SPORTFISING, San Diego. Fishing Offshore, Baja Mexico waters, 50-70 miles.

23 anglers on the boat, final count, 70 albacore, 12 yellowtail, and approx 15 large spanish jacks, a few large bonito, and one rouge blue shark about 4-5 feet long, who was caught and released a few times on one of the stops. Mr. blue shark ,the jacks , and the bonito were never posted in the "official" count, I guess since 70 albies was impressive enough for mid june!  The trip started slow for me and many of the anglers, yet ended in a bang for everyone, some anglers getting their 5 fish limit of albies, along with a yellowtail or 2!

The day started early with some pre-rotation trollers (me included), and one of them got bit. Skipper Boogie had some decent meter marks, and we picked a few bait fish, but the bite slowed down, yet we still tried for a while because fish were under the boat, 10-20 fathoms. It continued like this for most of the morning, one to three jig fish, and zero to three or four bait fish per stop, and I along with many on the boat werent getting bit, and it was getting discouraging.

Then at about 3pm or so, I got bit trolling a rainbow lime zucker's albie feather, on my calstar boomer jr rod, with my penn/accurate 4/0 spooled with 50lb (I chose to leave my 50w at home), and the fish gave one last daring run when he saw the gaff, but was quickly subdued weighing in at approx 20 pounds. A stop or 2 later the bait bite was improving, and I got bit on a sardine, size one mustad with 3/4oz rubbercore sinker, on my calstar 865XH with my penn/accurate 505HS spooled with 30lb, this fish also came in fairly quickly until he saw the boat, then he decided to take some powerful runs before being subdued by the gaff weighing approx 22 pounds. At this point I was happy, no more "skunk" in my sack, and also a baitfish eligable for the jackpot. Again, a stop or 2 later, I got bit on a sardine again, this time on size a 2 mustad, 1/2oz rubbercore, using my custom re-wrapped vintage garcia conolon rod, and my penn/accurate 505HS 99 conversion reel, spooled with 25lb. Now THIS fish wanted to fight from the start, I thought I may have had a bluefin this time, this fish was burning line from the start, and even got crossed with a fellow angler fighting another fish on the bow, the deckhand was GREAT at keeping us both out of the tangles. After a decent fight, the fish was gaffed on the 3rd gaff attempt, and weighed in at a hair over 26 pounds. After the 3rd albie I was happy enough to fish more mellow, and decided to stay out of a few bait bites at first, and didnt catch any more fish. Skipper Boogie made sure everyone who didnt catch a fish had a chance to troll, and by the end of the day EVERYONE scored at least one albacore starting at 15 lbs, most anglers getting 2 or 3, and a few getting 4 or 5. When it came time to weigh in for jackpot, I thought I had a chance with the 26 pounder, yet got beat out by 2 anglers who tied with 27 pound albies, I lost by a pound, it was a close 2nd! All in all a good trip by the end of the day, it was a late bite, and we returned to the dock late, at 10:30pm. Our trip had the highest per person albie count of the 3 point loma sportfishing boats who were also fishing one day in the same area! GREAT EARLY SEASON ALBACORE TRIP!

June 20th 1999 Twilight trip on the FREELANCE, out of Davey's Locker, Newport Beach, fishing local, HB flats.

This was good local twilight fishing, nothing spectacular, but a good steady pick at the sand bass and barracuda, and we got to stay in one spot the whole time, which was nice because the fish kept biting. The average catch was 3-5 barries and 3-5 sandies each person, with the usual execptions. Largest bass was about 5 pounds, and I estimate the jackpot barrie was about 8-9 pounds, not many short fish were caught, it was mostly quality fish. I caught my first 2 bass while fishing a #1 blue/white jig for barracuda, and caught both bass and barries on both bait (sardines/live squid) and the iron, there were many ways to hook these fish. For $25 (full adult fare, discount coupons can be found in some tackle shops) this is a good trip, and you dont have to worry about sunburn either! The FREELANCE is a good boat with a good crew, the galley is priced slightly higher than other boats, but this boat also tries very hard to make sure the fishing is a good as possible, and is usually a leader in the fish counts.

LABOR DAY '99 3 day trip on the SEARCHER (fisherman's landing, San Diego), fished offshore baja waters.

This was a GREAT TRIP, all the albacore you could possibly want, second only to a 4 day trip I took 2 summers prior, on the AMERICAN ANGLER, which had about 1000 albies, all the way up to 35 pounds. The albies on this trip averaged about 20-25 pounds, but there were plenty of them! The bluefin bite was decent, I manged one just under 20, one in the low 20's, and 3rd place jackpot, 32#, which was about 35 when freshly caught, according to a hand scale. I was not having the best of luck for the bluefin, breaking off 2 in a row at the rail, in the mid 30's, jackppot range, those 2 were heartbreakers. Later that day I scored the smaller blues. It was not till the end of the trip, when they were serving the last dinner, that the action heated up for me and a few other guys. The other guys got bit, and I think one got a fish in out of that rally, but I was just soaking a bait for a LONG time (we were OUT of bait) and not getting bit. When I gave up on that bait, I found one of the last ones in the tank, pinned it on my new clastar 760L/TLD30II rig with 60# and an owner circle hook, and dropped it in... right away the bait was a bad one, swimming straight down in a big spiral. I was just about to reel it up when I saw a huge flash come out from under the boat! It was my jackpot bluefin, what a way to end the trip! And to think it was on a "bad bait", and the fish was just waiting under the boat!

LINKS TO TACKLE MANUFACTRUERS WHO's PRODUCTS I USE:

PENN REELS    SHIMANO   SEEKER   CALSTAR  ACCURATE  

In memory of my friend, Sean Sutherland. Sean was one of my closest friends/fishing buddies. Here is a link to the Sean Sutherland Memorial Page , hosted by Greg Roe, one of Sean's closest childhood friends. In the future, if AOL makes good on the offer they extended for 10mb extra webspace for registering this site with hometown aol, I will put up my own Sean Sutherland page, with some of my own images of Sean. For now please vist Greq's memorial site.

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